It’s on at the ‘Bone

I’ve taken about a zillion pictures in the woods and on the waters in my life, but this one is certainly one of the most unique. Pollen art. It’s a mix of what could be clouds, mountains or some Picasso-like abstract view of what my EKG would look like after landing a two pound crappie.

Here’s how I think it happened. Thursday through Sunday the wind kicked up some pretty good waves on Lake D’Arbonne, not to mention waves from about a million boaters out enjoying the good weather and numerous fishing events. The water near the shores is covered in pollen, like the rest of north Louisiana. As the waves splashed pollen up on this concrete seawall at Eagle Point, it dried and started a unique pollen painting. As smaller and smaller waves hit later in the day, it left different levels of distinctive patterns of pollen art on the concrete. The water dropped a few inches over the last two days and left a solid green line as the waters calmed. The green spots on the water and an occasional “clear” spot with reflections from the iron fence added more to it. Amazing!

Believe it or not, the pollen may even play into some of the fishing during the big $100,000 American Crappie Trail National Championship event. The hottest new technical device involved in fishing — the Live Scope — gives fishermen a camera-like view right into the fish’s homes. It’s so good you can troll up to a tree in three feet of water and see if there is a fish by the tree. I kid you not. But with a thick layer of pollen in the thermocline, it’s making a little harder to get a clear picture on this new depth finder/fish finder/fish snooper device.

Here’s a question for all you crappie pros: Do fish still bite good when they are having an allergy attack?

Are the fish still biting? Yes, they are. My son-in-law Andy Davis and I caught some good ones yesterday.

I had to go find out for myself because you’d have better luck trying to find out the truth on a CNN news broadcast than by asking one of these championship contestants about where and what the fish are biting. They are more tight-lipped than a bluegill bream after a full moon cold front.

I can tell you this. Some fish are still being caught from the channel. They’re also catching on the flats and right up to the trees on the bank. The fish are in transition. All fish don’t spawn at the same time. A lot of the big females that it will take to win it are spawning or staging on the verge of spawning. I’m predicting the winning catch will come from someone finding those fish holding on the flats. And the winners won’t be able to depend on just one hole to do it. Fishing will probably change a little bit every day. Getting a big limit for three days in a row? That’s going to be tough. But you can bet several of these talented teams will do it.

Could it take 40 pounds to win it? Yes, it could.

We’ve included weather and water level charts at the bottom as to what else to look for from Mother Nature this week.

And finally — It looks like there will be about 80 boats fishing in this weekend’s National Championship on Lake D’Arbonne. The top 100 teams on the trail qualified for the event, but travel restrictions, personal reasons and work-related conflicts will cause about 20 of the teams to stay home, ACT head Matt Morgan told us today.

Other teams are not eligible to get an invite to fill in. If you don’t make the top 100, you can’t bring your Engel to the minnow tank, even if folks ahead of you drop out. That’s part of the rules of ACT.

The big event has even garnered the attention of the state’s leading outdoor publication, the Louisiana Sportsman.

You can check out the writeup at the link below:

You can also find out more about the ACT and its schedule in previous posts on lakedarbonnelife.com

The tournament festivities officially get underway Wednesday with a Media/Industry Sponsors/Celebrity fish-off where some locals, visiting outdoor press and tour sponsors pair up with top professional teams for a big one-fish challenge. Our area will be represented well. Yours truly will be fishing in it along with fellow outdoorsmen and fish tale pushers Bobby Phillips of Honey Hole fame; radio and TV personality Glynn Harris and Peyton McKinnie of Tiger Bend Outdoors. Weigh-in will be at 10:30 a.m. at D’Arbonne Pointe. Official practice ends at noon Wednesday when all the anglers have to be off the water.

The actual tournament begins Thursday where all the teams will compete. Come Friday, only the top 50 teams from Day One make the cut, finishing up Saturday’s final round with the top 25 teams casting for the crown. Weighin the first two days will be at D’Arbonne Pointe with the final weigin at Railroad Park in Ruston, each beginning at 3 p.m. It’s a first-of-it’s kind three day event for crappie fishing. And I’m very proud that it’s being held on Lake D’Arbonne. These folks could fish — and take their huge economic impact — anywhere in the country. Let’s keep working hard to keep them here!

Good fishing. Be safe. If you get a chance, come check out the ACT action in person. It’s on at the ‘Bone!